Tag: AOT Overview

The application object tree (AOT) is a hierarchically structure where all the Dynamics AX objects are defined.

If you open the AOT by launching the development environment (CTRL-D) you will see the following folder structure. Each different type of object will be stored in these subfolders (or nodes) depending on its nature.

When a user requests a change or modification to AX, they usually will identify a form or report in the AX client. But how do we identify in the AOT which object to modify?

If you browse through the nodes in the AOT you will see that there are thousands of objects. Trying to find an object in the dark would be an overwhelming task.

A good place to start will be to request the user a screenshot of the form that they want to change (including the menu path), or if possible, ask them to guide you through the process in AX so you can get to that form or object they want to modify.

Let’s say that you identify the Trial Balance form as the object that you need to modify.

If you right-click on this form and then select the Personalize option you will get to the Personalization form, where you will get access to more information about the AX object.

One useful feature available is that you can keep the Personalization form open while clicking on some of the fields in the form, and the Personalization form will display information about that field including the System name, which most of the times includes the data source (table, view or query) and the field name.

If you click on the Information tab you will be able to identify the form name.

Once you identify the form name, you can go back to the development environment, open the AOT form and retrieve the object definition where you can start making your changes.

The AX form’s personalization feature is a great place to start when trying to identify AX objects, their definitions and properties.

This article was written by Eduardo Sicouret, Dynamics Technical Consultant for Tridea Partners. Tridea is a leading Microsoft Dynamics provider serving CA, AZ, UT, CO, NH, MA and surrounding regions.